Things to Consider When Exploring Blind & Curtain Ideas
Hoping to buy blinds or curtains but feeling a bit overwhelmed with all the choices? You might walk into a store with great curtain ideas but it’s easy to lose focus when you see all the options on the shelves.
Did you know that blinds and curtains can be energy efficient? Did you know there are more types of blinds that the typical shutters? There’s so much to consider!
To help you narrow down your options, here are some tips to pick the right blinds and curtains that work best for you:
1. Colour
Your choice of colour will be among the main priorities when choosing the ideal blinds or window curtains. Getting the wrong colour can ruin the aesthetic value of the whole room.
The wrong colours on the wrong windows can also lead to quick degradation. If you use strong colours like blood red on windows where the sun shines often, the colours could fade quickly. Go around this by choosing blinds or curtains with nude or neutral light colours, ensuring they’ll still look good even after fading a bit.
2. Measurements
Your second step is to make sure you get the right measurements. The general rule of thumb is that your blinds or curtain panels should be longer and wider than your windows. Drapes should go down to the floor.
If you want to make your windows and walls look bigger than they are, include a few inches above the window. Hanging your curtains 4-5 inches above the window frame creates an illusion of length.
3. Material
Blinds come in all shapes and sizes. Generic blinds like shutters or slats use aluminium or wood. Sheers use glass and these are great if you want to filter out light and striking glares in the room.
Curtains, on the other hand, come in too many options. Most use cotton, wool, silk, and linen. Thicker curtain fabric is great if you want to control temperature and prevent bright light from seeping into the room. Lighter fabric is better when you want to keep the airflow circulating.
Material choice will also affect your budget. It goes without saying that the stronger and more functional materials will cost more.
4. Style
Getting the right fabric, right measurements, and the right colour won’t do you much good if the style of the blinds or curtains doesn’t click with your personal preferences.
There are a lot of stylistic blinds and curtain ideas to choose from. Do you want to stick with plain colours and a sleek design for a modern look? Will you go for deep colours, embroidery, and frills for a Victorian or Edwardian aesthetic?
Blinds can be boring, white with no style at all, or as unique as vertical sheers using rotating glass materials.
5. Ease of Use
Generic blinds are easy to use; you have one line to pull to open or shut the blinds and another line to rotate the individual panels. Cheap curtains require you to pull them open by hand and then tie them manually but you may find a few affordable choices with their own rope.
In short, make sure you check if the curtains and blinds are easy to use. You don’t want to spend more time than you have to only to open your window and look outside.
6. Safety for Kids and Pets
Keep reading: www.curtainclean.co.nz...
Poll: Do you think NZ should ban social media for youth?
The Australian Prime Minister has expressed plans to ban social media use for children.
This would make it illegal for under 16-year-olds to have accounts on platforms including TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and X.
Social media platforms would be tasked with ensuring children have no access (under-age children and their parents wouldn’t be penalised for breaching the age limit)
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Do you think NZ should follow suit? Vote in our poll and share your thoughts below.
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85.1% Yes
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13.4% No
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1.5% Other - I'll share below
What's your favourite recipe for courgettes?
Kia ora neighbours. If you've got a family recipe for courgettes, we'd love to see it and maybe publish it in our magazine. Send your recipe to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, and if we use it in the mag, you will receive a free copy of our January 2025 issue.
scumbags
There are some really awful people around at the moment. This is what happened on Sunday.
We live in Hinemoa Street opposite the Waiwhetu Stream. At around 3.40 in the afternoon I was looking out my window and saw a car pull up and start to feed the geese and ducks out the window. Then The passenger an asian man jumped out and threw himself onto a goose. he picked it up and put it the boot of the car.
I immediately ran over and stood in front of his car to stop him moving I also called my husband to help. A lovely man was riding his bike and saw it and stopped to help me. The driver tried to drive into me but I didnt move. He tried telling us it was his pet. These are wild geese.
They had a cage in the boot and some wire all ready to catch the poor bird like they have done it before. My husband took the bird from the car and released it. I then moved out of the way and after lots of abuse from the driver they drove off threatening to come back and get more.
No one should be allowed to take these beautiful birds and certainly not like this. they are all starting to have wee babies at the moment the whole thing was so upsetting to me. Another neighbour further down the road also saw it all happen.
Please keep a look out for this car and if you see them by the stream go over and watch them lets all stop this happening.